Ukraine offers to help African nations eliminate Russian mercenaries - Reuters

In Mauritania, Ukraine opened an embassy in Nouakchott, one of eight missions opened in Africa since Russia's 2022 invasion.

The embassy oversees the supply of food aid through the World Food Program for Malian refugees from neighboring Mali.

Mauritanian Armed Forces training

"Ukraine is ready to continue training officers and representatives of the Mauritanian armed forces, to share the technologies and achievements that Ukraine has made" on the battlefield against Russia, said Ambassador for African Affairs Maksym Subkh, adding that Ukraine had previously conducted such training before the Russian invasion.

This comes amid tensions between Mauritania and Mali, where Russia supports a regime that persecutes the Tuareg.

Russia's influence in Sahel

Russian military and mercenaries are guarding the leaders of several Western and Central African countries, and Russian mining companies are deeply entrenched in the Sahel. According to the Ukrainian ambassador, Russia's military presence undermines the stability of the region.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia is the largest arms supplier to Africa.

Ukraine's African strategy

At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many African countries remained neutral at the UN, even after problems with food exports from Ukraine. Kyiv then developed a strategy for Africa to counter Russia's narrative and increase trade.

Subkh was appointed to lead this effort, and since then, Kyiv has opened 8 of the 10 new embassies announced for 2022, he said, bringing Ukraine's missions in Africa to 18.

The countries include Côte d'Ivoire and Congo, which condemned Russia's invasion early on. Kyiv plans to open an embassy this year in Sudan, where the United States accuses Russia of arming both sides in the brutal conflict.

However, Kyiv is no match for an adversary with deep commercial and military ties, including the longstanding presence of Moscow's intelligence services. In total, Russia has about 40 missions in Africa, and recently announced plans to open seven more.

Ukraine wants to convince African countries that its struggle against Russia, its Soviet-era master, has parallels with their efforts to overcome the legacy of European colonialism, Subkh said.

Despite offering military training, Ukraine's military efforts to win over allies in Africa have largely focused on food.

Kyiv reports that it has sent about 300,000 tons in aid distributed through the World Food Program (WFP) under the EU- and US-funded Grain from Ukraine program, which competes with a similar Russian food aid plan for Africa.

The Ukrainian-branded aid has reached 8 million people in 12 countries, the European Policy Center, a think tank, reported in April. Recipients included Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, and Sudan.

And after reopening Black Sea ports that Russia bombed and blockaded during the first two years of the war, Ukraine exported about 10 million tons of grain to Africa in 2024, almost twice as much as the previous year, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

By showing that it is an important alternative to Russian food supplies, Ukraine hopes that African countries that remained neutral during the war will begin to put pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

"Maintaining its role as one of the guarantors of the world's food security, Ukraine can prevent Russia from using food supplies as political leverage," Roman Sereda, Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Nouakchott, said in an interview.

Ukraine becoming more visible

In April, Volodymyr Zelenskyy became the first Ukrainian president to visit South Africa, a close Russian ally. He called for recognition of Ukraine's struggles and proposed potential deals on energy, fertilizer, and security.

South African Foreign Ministry spokesperson Crispin Phiri said that both Ukraine and Russia are allies. He said that South Africa stands for peace and mediates on humanitarian issues, such as the return of Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia.

However, South African analyst Tim Murithi said Ukraine's strategy in Africa lacks coherence, pointing out that Kyiv has not appointed an ambassador to Ethiopia, a key post that countries including Russia use to engage with the influential Addis Ababa-based African Union.

Ukrainian data show that Ukraine's commercial exports are largely focused on North Africa, with sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria, buying only a fraction of what they imported before the war. Mauritania itself bought much less food from Ukraine last year than in 2021.

Refugees from Mali

In Mauritania, the cargoes were mostly headed to Mberi, the largest refugee camp in West Africa, which is home to a growing number of Malians fleeing the Russian-backed regime. Over the past two years, the camp's population has almost tripled to about 250,000 people.

Mali severed relations with Kyiv because of an attack by Tuareg rebels. As a result, 47 Malian soldiers and 84 Russian mercenaries working for the regime were killed. At the same time, a representative of Ukrainian intelligence admitted Ukraine's participation.

Since then, Ukraine has strongly denied any involvement. Kyiv did not participate in covert operations in the region, Subkh said.

In November 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready to share its experience of killing Wagnerites with Africa.